MANUFACTURING OF SHEET MATERIAL

Abstract: This invention relates to a method of producing a laminate plate, which is to be used, for example, within the building industry, the laminate plate comprising a particle board, an upper and a lower layer of laminate, which layers comprise a plurality of laminate sheets. According to the invention, the method is characterized in that the laminate sheets of the upper (8) and the lower (9) laminate layer, respectively, are put together and are welded together at a portion of these ones, so that a coherent laminate layer (8, 9) is created, and that the laminate layers (8, 9) are brought together with a particle board (10), whereafter the package put together and comprising a particle board (10) and two laminate layers (8, 9) is brought into a pressing machine for the making of the laminate plate. The invention also relates to a welding device, which is useable for carrying out the method.

Description: Manufacturing of sheet material This invention relates to a method of manufacturing a laminate plate for use within e.g. the building industry, the laminate plate comprising a particle board, an upper and a lower laminate layer, which layers comprise laminate sheets. The invention also relates to a device which is useable for carrying out the method. This type of laminate plates is previously known in the market and have become at later time an increased use, e.g. as floors in private houses. Laminate plates also have been used as plates on worktops and the like in kitchens in private houses. The drawback with the known laminate plates is that they require a long manufacturing time, relatively spoken. Therefore the manufacturing cost has become unnecessarily high for the known laminate plates. This invention intends to solve this problem and to provide a new manufacturing method for the laminate plates, which enables the manufacturing time and by that the manufacturing costs of the plates to be reduced essentially. This has been made possible by the fact that the method comprises the steps appearing from the main claim 1. The invention shall be described more closely with reference to the accompanying drawings, where Fig. 1 shows a flowchart when manufacturing a laminate plate by means of the new method, and Figs. 2, 3 show a device which is useable for carrying out the method. With reference to Fig. 1 is shown there the flowchart for manufacturing the laminate plate by means of the new manufacturing method. A laminate plate comprises a particle board which on its topside and its underside has been provided with a laminated layer. The laminated layer on its topside usually comprises four laminate sheets, whereas the laminated layer on its underside usually comprises two laminate sheets. An essential advantage by having laminate sheets on the underside is that a planar laminate plate is obtained after pressing the particle board together with the upper and the lower laminted layer. At A in Fig. 1 is shown a storage room for laminate sheets, which come into the storage room in the form of racks which are placed on different pallet stands. At this stage the wrapping as well as the quality and the quantity of the laminate sheets are controlled. The laminate sheets are taken to a welding station C by means of a truck B, where four racks 1-4 with different laminate sheets are placed in a special rackstand 5. The four racks 1-4 as is apparent from Fig. 1 are arranged above each other. Above the uppermost rack 1 there is arranged a welding unit 6 by means of which the laminate sheets, put together, shall be welded together preferably along one of their long sides, because the laminate sheets usually have a rectangular design. When arranging the upper laminate layer the truck B is used, and this truck is provided with a platform 7, at each side of which one man is positioned. The platform is placed at the rack no 4, whereafter the two men pull out a laminate sheet from this rack and put it on the platform. In the next moment the platform 7 is raised to rack no 3 for fetching a laminate sheet from this rack, which sheet is put on top of the laminate sheet from the rack no 4. When a laminate sheet has been pulled out from all racks 1-4 and have been put on top of each other, the platform is raised further one step so that its upper part approximately comes in a level with the welding device 6. Thereafter the one long side of the laminate sheets, put together, is placed in the welding device for welding the sheets together. The welding device 6 has a special design as is shown more closely in Figs. 2, 3 and allows the entire longside of the laminated layer 1-4 to be spotwelded simultaneously. After the welding procedure the laminate layer 1-4 is taken either to the next station D where preparation for pressing shall be made or to a stock room for laminate layers. According to a preferred embodiment of the laminate plate the upper laminate layer 8 comprises an "over lay "-sheet 1, which is transparent and has the uppermost position and is intended to give wearing strength to the plate, a decor sheet 2 giving pattern and colour to the plate and two sheets 3 of phenol resin which sheets are water-repelling and chockabsorbing. The decor sheet can be made of e.g. oak-wood, beech- wood, pine- wood or spruce-wood. According to the embodiment the lower laminate layer 9 of the laminate plate is manufactured of two laminate sheets 2, 4, where 2 relates to a decor sheet and 4 a sheet of phenol resin of another kind than the phenol resin sheet 3. -Also these two sheets 2, 4 are welded together along their one longitudinal side. The decor sheet 2 is intended to be placed under the phenol resin sheet 4 as is shown in Fig. 1 at the station C. Of course, it is possible to arrange other combinations of laminate sheets than those mentioned here for the two laminate layers. After that the low layer has been welded together, it is taken either to a stock room for a later use or direct to station D, where preparation for pressing is made. Thus, at the station D the upper layer 8 comprising four laminate sheets 1, 2, 3, 3 is put on the top of a particle board 10, which is taken from a stock room E of particle boards. On the underside of the particle board the lower layer 9 is placed, comprising the laminate sheets 2, 4. The laminate layers 8, 9 are usually iken from a storage F of laminate layers. From the station D the package, put together and comprising a particle board 10 with an upper layer 8 and an underlayer 9 to the station G, where the package is pressed together under a high pressure and a high temperature to a laminate plate. From the pressing station G the laminate plate is taken to a station H for a control and visual inspection, whereafter the controlled laminate plate is put on a bed plate 11 for creation of a package 12 of laminate plates. In Figs. 2, 3 is the welding device 6 shown more closely. This one comprises a long, lower rail 13, which is intended to co-operate with a long, upper rail 14. The upper rail as is shown in Figs. 2, 3 can be made in two parts 15, 16. The upper rail 14 during the welding procedure is intended to be brought towards the lower rail 13 for spot welding of the laminate sheets, put together, the one longsides of which are introduced between the rails 13, 14. The welding occurs when the upper rail comes into contact with the lower rail. The movement of the upper rail 14 is made possible by a great number of air cylinders 17 which are fastened on a strutting device in the form of a long, horizontal rod 18, extending on the topside of the rail 14 and along this one. The pistons of the air cylinders 17 act upon the rail 14 in such a way that they simultaneously press down this upper rail towards the lower rail 13 for spot welding of the laminate sheets, put together. The great advantage with this invention is the idea to put the utilized laminate sheets together and to weld a portion of these ones together, whereby a storage of different laminate layers can be put up for a quick feeding of these ones to the pressing station where the pressing of the laminate layers together with the particle board is made. Due to this arrangement the pressing machine can be operated continuously, which of course means an effective manufacture. With this new method a conventional pressing machine produces 120 laminate plates per hour, whereas the same machine with "old" production technique only produces 40 laminate plates per hour. The invention is of course not limited to what has been shown in the drawing and has been described in the text but can be modified within the scope of the following claims. Thus, it would of course be possible to mechanize the procedure meaning that two men pull out the different laminate sheets from respective laminate sheet rack for putting these sheets together to a laminate layer.

Claims: Claims 1. A method of manufacturing a laminate plate for use within e.g. the building industry, the laminate plate comprising a particle board, an upper and a lower laminate layer, which layers comprise a plurality of laminate sheets, characterized in that the laminate sheets of the upper (8) and the lower (9) laminate layer, respectively, are put together and are welded together at a portion of these ones so that a coherent laminate layer (8, 9) is created, and that the two laminate layers (8, 9) are brought together with a particle board (10), whereafter the package, put together, comprising the particle board (10) and the two laminate layers (8, 9) are introduced into a pressing machine for the making of the laminate plate. 2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the laminate sheets in the laminate layers (8, 9) are positioned as laminate sheet racks (1-4) on different levels in a rack stand (5), only one type of laminate sheets constituting each rack, that the laminate sheets of respective laminate layer (8, 9) are taken out from respective rack (1-4) and are placed on top of each other, and that a portion of the laminate sheets, put together, of respective laminate layer (8, 9) is placed in a welding device for welding the sheets together. 3. A welding device useable for carrying out the method when manufacturing a laminate plate according to claim 1 or 2, the laminate plate comprising a particle board, an upper and a lower laminate layer, which layers comprise a plurality of laminate sheets, characterized in that the welding device (6) comprises a horizontally elongated, lower rail (13), which is intended to co-operate with a horizontally elongated, upper rail (14), the rails being able to take an active position where the rails go against each other and an inactive position, respectively, where the rails are removed from each other so that there is an opening between the rails (13, 14), whereby a portion of the laminate sheets, put together, can be introduced into the opening and be placed between the two rails (13, 14), and that the mentioned laminate sheets are welded together when the two rails (13, 14) take their active position. 4. A welding device according to claim 3, characterized in that the active position and the inactive position, respectively, is taken by the fact that a plurality of air cylinders (17) are arranged to act upon the upper rail (14) so that this one becomes moveable in the vertical plane towards and from, respectively, the lower rail. 5. A welding device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the upper rail (14) is made in two parts (15, 16).

Inventors: OLSSON ARNE, OLSSON, ARNE
Applicants: BYGGELIT AB LIT, OLSSON ARNE, OLSSON, ARNE
Application year: 1994
Main classification: B32B31
IPC codes: B32B21, B32B37